14 and penniless (guest)

[Rossana121]

Hello everyone,

I'm submitting this to you, fellow hosts, because I rely on your expertise.

last month I have received inquiries from a newly open account; the guy started asking me about available dates, and then disclosed that he is 14 and wanted to book the room to spend some time with his girlfriend (15 y.o.).
Of course I was very hesitant, didn't want to have troubles with the law for hosting a couple of minors.
He told me a bit more and convinced me to give him a chance.
BUT
then he disclosed that he had no credit card, and asked me if there were another way he could pay (Twint or cash).
Again, very hesitant...
Still agreed.
Crickets.
Comes back now asking again for dates.
This time I went with a straight 'no can do', still worried about what a decline would mean in terms of penalties on my way to Superhost.

But then I started wondering:
how is it possible that someone so underage, and with no means for payment is allowed to open an account and send out enquiries???
I would expect a modicum of control from Airbnb, at the very least that minimum requirements are met.
But I guess that's wishful thinking.

As a host you can only require bookings to come from validated people if you enable Instant Booking (which I will never ever do, for a million reasons).
So we, as those who actually let people into our homes, apparently do not have the right to expect the platform we give money to do a little due diligence.
WOW! Stunning!

Is there really no way for us to have this request fulfilled?

[Huma0]

I have to admit, I am a hypocrite. I started backpacking around Europe, with friends who were also teens, when I was just 15. I was always in charge of booking all of the travel and the accommodation (my parents had no involvement in this), which I had absolutely no trouble doing - surprising, given my age. Often it was in youth hostels, but sometimes also in private homeshares.  I would have been put out if people turned us away because of it.

However, times have changed and so have I. There is no way I am accepting any unaccompanied guests under 18. There are so many things that could go wrong and I just don't need that responsibility. I felt bad when I had to turn away two teens (I think they were 15 and 16) as I remembered full well what I was like at that age and how responsible I was (in general). But, sorry, I'm just not going to do it.

I was totally baffled though that these kids were able to open an account and try to book. They could book, in theory, if another guest accepted them and they were being totally honest about their age. Although I would have acted very differently to @Rossana121  in the same situation, like her, I really feel that Airbnb has some responsibility for making sure that there are no underage guests on the platform. Requiring verified Govt ID from ALL guests would be a start...